Teaching unions in Wales are calling for an urgent review of teachers’ and school leaders’ pay.

Unions representing the majority of education staff in Wales and England will submit a joint statement to governments today calling for a significant pay increase for teachers and school leaders, and setting out their views on what they say are the most pressing issues facing the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).

Teacher demand is outstripping supply and success of Wales’s planned education reforms are threatened by recruitment problems, the National Association of Head Teachers Cymru said.

ASCL Cymru along with ASCL. NAHT Cymru, NAHT, NEU, UCAC and Voice say the STRB needs to set a benchmark for teacher and school leaders’ pay making them competitive with other graduate professions and to aid recruitment and retention.

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In a joint statement today the unions said: “We believe it is a matter of “justice and fairness” that all teachers and school leaders should receive an annual cost of living increase to prevent them from being worse off year-on-year.

“The current policy of differentiated pay awards is not working and is demoralising the profession.

“We are calling for a significant pay increase for all teachers and school leaders to begin to address the decline in teachers’ real pay over the last seven years.

“It is also vital that any pay increases arising from the recommendations of the STRB are fully funded by the government. School budgets are at breaking point. Without additional funding, paying staff fairly whilst fully funding the curriculum will be impossible.”

"Current policy of differentiated pay awards is not working and is demoralising the profession,"say unions. Photo: PA Wire

Rob Williams, director of Policy for NAHT Cymru, the union for school leaders in Wales, said: “The need for a review of teachers and school leaders’ pay is beyond urgent. Too few new recruits are coming through and too many experienced people are leaving prematurely threatening the success of the education reforms in Wales, which we all wish to see succeed.

“We’re seeing the same problems right across the public sector. Standards in public services are at risk unless we start to pay people fairly for the important work that they do. Even when teachers’ pay and conditions are eventually devolved to Wales, the fundamental issues will remain if the UK Government continues to underfund the public sector.

“The key thing is that all pay awards for school staff should be fully funded so as to not take away from school budgets already at breaking point. Given the challenges concerning recruitment and retention, including for school leadership roles in Wales, this can no longer be ignored.”

Teachers have had seven years of pay caps and freezes imposed by Westminster according to ASCL Cymru

Tim Pratt, Director of ASCl Cymru, said: “At a time when many schools in Wales are struggling to make ends meet, and with budgets likely to be further reduced, it is vital that not only are teachers given a decent pay rise after seven years of pay caps and freezes imposed by the government in Westminster, but also that any pay award is fully funded by the government in Westminster through the Barnett formula. We should not be in a position where a school’s financial viability is compromised because a much-needed realignment of pay is not fully funded centrally.”

Elaine Edwards, General Secretary of UCAC, said: “For years teachers have not been properly valued or remunerated for their crucial contribution to the education and social development of our children and young people which has led to serious recruitment and retention problems in Wales and England. The UK Government must now address the issue of teachers’ pay and provide a fully funded restorative pay award as a matter of urgency for the next academic year.”

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“We note the position of the five unions. We have also been invited to submit views and evidence to the STRB as part of their consideration of this year’s teachers’ pay and conditions. We will be writing to the STRB outlining our views and providing appropriate evidence next week as part of the first stage of this consultation process.

Unions will be submitting detailed evidence separately from each other on January 25.